


Half Baked

by an0neemouse



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Baking, Cake, Comedy, Feelings, Fluff, M/M, Romance, domestic AU, half baked
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 13:10:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15316203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/an0neemouse/pseuds/an0neemouse
Summary: Chanyeol tries his hand at baking and makes a mess of Kyungsoo's kitchen.





	Half Baked

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MissIdash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissIdash/gifts).



> There will be at least one more installment of this story. Possibly two.

“What the hell is this?” Kyungsoo asks voice sliding high in horror at the sight before him. The kitchen is an absolute disaster. There’s dirty dishes strewn about the counter, batter smeared down a couple cupboards, and there’s the little fallout circle of dust where it appears flour and maybe cocoa powder had been dropped somewhere around the center of the floor. His eyes flick between the complete devastation he sees to the culprit and they go from horrified curiosity to abhorred realization. “Yah! Park, Chanyeol! What did you do?”

“Ah! Soo!” Chanyeol freezes. He’s half bent over, the oven door open wafting heat directly in his face and he hopes this disguises the flush that’s creeping up his neck and turning his ears crimson. He panics and sort of flails but then realizes that that will spill the very uncooked cake he’s holding and freezes all over again. A great brown blob of batter sloshes up over the side and makes a slow path down the cake pan before plopping with an exaggerated splat on the floor. “You weren’t supposed to be home yet.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.” Kyungsoo says resolutely but then he sees Chanyeol swallowing hard and he forces himself to take a deep breath. He can clearly see the other man’s panic and even though he’d love to know what happened to his kitchen he knows he needs to step in now before his derp of a roommate makes an even worse mess of the kitchen or sets off the fire alarm. Scooping up a washcloth from the drawer he goes to the sink and wets it before making his way over to where Chanyeol is standing ever so still, his own personal statue, and wipes the excess batter from the outside of the pan. Plucking the pan out of the other man’s grasp he spins around and sets it on a clear spot on top of the stove. “What are you trying to make, Yeollie?”

“You weren’t supposed to be home for a couple more hours.” Chanyeol says again as if this explains everything. 

“Xiumin let me go early.” Kyungsoo tells him seeing no explaination forthcoming. “The cafe wasn’t busy so he said I could go early and enjoy my birthday.” It’s then that he puts two and two together, eyes flicking from the unfinished cake on the stove to Chanyeol’s panicked expression and holy shit that’s sweet. He melts a little. “Were you- Were you baking me a cake for my birthday?”

Chanyeol seems to unfreeze, one big hand coming up to rub self consciously at the back of his neck. He turns away to hide his blush and mumbles under his breath. “Trying to.”

Kyungsoo’s smile stretches so wide it threatens to crawl right off his face. “Want some help?”

The taller man’s face lights with surprise and a little bit of hope but then it quickly crumples. “You shouldn’t have to bake your own birthday cake.”

“I won’t then.” Kyungsoo tells him and goes over to one of the high top stools they have next to the counter and plops himself down on it. “I’ll direct.”

A slow smile tugs at Chanyeol’s lips and then it blooms in full and damn he’s adorable. “Okay! Honestly, this is probably the only way it’ll turn out.”

Kyungsoo silently agrees but he doesn’t say that out loud. Instead he asks a couple questions. “What temperature do you have the oven at?”

“Uh-” Chanyeol looks at the oven. “300?”

“Are you trying to burn it to a crisp?” Kyungsoo asks appalled. It’s a small miracle he came home when he did and stopped this train wreck in it’s tracks. “Try 175.”

Obediently Chanyeol adjusts the knobs to the appropriate temperature. “Should I put it in then?”  
“Not unless you really like burned cake.” Kyungsoo tells him dryly. “Let it sit where it is for a bit while the oven cools down a bit. You made a bit of a disaster of my kitchen, you can clean up while we wait.”

Chanyeol has the good grace to flush crimson. He rubs some more at the back of his neck and looks sheepishly at the other. “Yeah. I didn’t really know what I was doing. I tried to follow this recipe I found online and I think I did okay but I kinda made a mess.”

“I’m sure you did fine.” Kyungsoo tells him gently feeling his heart turn over in his chest at how sweet his hyung is. They’ve been roommates for almost a year now and friends for a lot longer. It warms him to no end that Chanyeol stepped so far out of his comfort zone just to bake him a cake for his birthday when he could have easily gone down the street to the bakery and bought one. “You want help cleaning up?”

“Naw.” Chanyeol grabs a dish cloth and quickly wipes down the cupboards and the blob of batter from the floor. “Cleaning I can do.”

“What made you decide I needed a homemade cake, Yeollie?” Kyungsoo asks after a minute when the silence is too much for him. Chanyeol is now in front of the sink, suds up to his elbows, humming as he scrubs at the small mountain of dishes. “You’ve never done anything like this before.”

“We never lived together before.” Chanyeol tells him without turning around. The back of his neck turns pink and he hopes to God that Kyungoo doesn’t notice. They’ve been friends for years, since high school when his best friend Beakhyun drug him along to hang out with his friend Jongin and Jongin’s best friend Kyungsoo. From the very beginning he had annoyed the crap out of Kyungsoo, the smaller man leveling him with a frightening glare. For some reason that Chanyeol still can’t put his finger on to this day, he absolutely delighted in ticking off the younger. Jongin and Beakhyun decided they needed to hang out on a daily basis after that and frequently drug their best friends along for the ride. The more they hung out the harder Chanyeol had to work to get under Kyungsoo’s skin and somewhere along the way they became friends themselves. 

Now, years later they decided to live together to pool resources while they try to recover after college. Chanyeol got his degree in business and is working in an office downtown. He’s one step away from the bottom of the totem pole but there’s lots of room for growth and he’s doing well enough that there will probably be a promotion coming in the near future. Kyungsoo is a cook at a cute little cafe not far from their apartment. He had gotten halfway through his own degree in business, decided it wasn’t for him, and ended up choosing to work instead. He just happened to get a great gig cooking under an incredible chef named Xiumin who taught him everything he knows. In the end Xiumin decided to turn the kitchen over to Kyungsoo and focus more on the business aspect of the restaurant. When Chanyeol got hired at the office, he and Kyungsoo just thought it made sense to move in together since the apartment is pretty much smack dab in between the two places of work. 

What they didn’t anticipate was how this would change the dynamic of their relationship. Suddenly there were no more secrets, no more barriers. When Kyungsoo’s boyfriend broke up with him a month after they moved in together Chanyeol is the one who picks up the pieces. And when Chanyeol got passed up for the position of supervisor it was Kyungsoo who comforted him through the setback. They do everything together. From lazy nights munching crappy pizza that Kyungsoo over-analyzes to crazy karaoke dates that involve way too much soju and a little too much flirting on Chanyeol’s end. And over the course of those long months spent together Chanyeol falls head over heels in love with his roommate. For better or worse. He knows it’s a terrible idea. Knows that Kyungsoo will never feel the same way. But still, his heart is involved and as much as it hurts him to love alone, Chanyeol determines to love Kyungsoo as best he can. Hence the cake. 

A gentle hand to his back pulls him out of his thoughts and he startles so hard he sloshes water over the edge of the sink and it splatters all down his front. “You stopped moving for like five minutes, Channie, and your neck is beet red. What were you thinking about?”

Chanyeol’s heart speeds up as he looks down at Kyungsoo’s face, huge dark eyes turned up to look at him. “N-nothing.”

“Yeollie.” Kyungsoo shifts his hand to the other man’s elbow and his eyes go all soft. “Don’t lie to me. I know you. What’s upsetting you?”

Sometimes Kyungsoo’s powers of observation are too much. “I was just- j-just worrying about the cake.”

There’s a long moment of silence as Kyungsoo tries to read Chanyeol’s expression and decides that’s not it. He makes a sound in the back of his throat. “What were you really thinking about?”

Unable to come up with an effective lie Chanyeol does what he does best and flails around a bit. More water sloshes out and darkens the front of his jeans. “Shit.” Quickly Chanyeol pulls his hands out of the suds and tries to brush the water off. It’s ineffectual at best and he just sort of ends up making it worse. His face floods with color. “Now it looks like I peed myself!”

Kyungsoo can’t help the chuckle that slips out but he turns away to hide his grin from the other, using the moment to scoop up a towel. “Here. This will work better than wet hands.” 

Chanyeol grumbles something about not laughing at him but takes the towel all the same and begins patting down the front of his jeans but then gives it up as a bad job and tosses the towel on the counter. “It’s no use. I’m just gonna go change.”

“Put on pajama pants.” Kyungsoo tells him and goes over to check the over. The temperature is much more manageable now. “I’ll put in the cake. Then I say we order pizza and watch movies.”

“You don’t want to go out?” Chanyeol asks on his way out the door. His room is just down the hall. If he leaves his door open they can easily continue this conversation while he changes. 

“Why would we go out?” Kyungsoo asks, truly bewildered. “I hate people and there’s cake to eat.”

“Point.” Chanyeol concedes. He ruffles around in a drawer for a minute and finds his favorite pair of pajama bottoms. They’re dark blue with lighter blue checks all over them and they’re made out of the softest material. It’s pure coincidence that Kyungsoo bought them for him for Christmas year before last. He takes his time changing, grateful for the moment of solitude to compose himself. He’s not sure if it’s just that Kyungsoo surprised him but he feels out of sorts and off kilter. They’re roommates for crying out loud! They spend every day together in some capacity! Why is he suddenly blushing and falling apart just because Kyungsoo looked at him with those big brown eyes? 

All too soon he is changed and pads back into the kitchen. He can’t have been gone five minutes but in that time Kyungsoo’s put the cake in, set the timer, and washed up a good portion of the dishes. Chanyeol shakes his head and grabs a towel to start drying. He means to say something along the lines of ‘you don’t have to do that,’ but what comes out is, “What would I do without you?”

Thankfully Kyungsoo sees nothing odd in this question and merely chuckles. “Have a messy kitchen.”

“I’d have a kitchen.” Chanyeol points out with a grin shifting sideways to bump hips with the smaller man. 

“Good point.” Kyungsoo laughs. “As it is you just make big messes in my kitchen.”

“But I do it for you.” Chanyeol points out voice going a little soft. He’s trying so hard to keep this light and playful but damn his heart, it’s making it difficult. He shifts a glance at Kyungsoo and catches the other looking back. Their eyes lock and for a long minute they freeze and just stare at one another. It’s not unpleasant but it’s filled with all sorts of unspoken things and the silence balloons around them. Chanyeol shifts a little so he is closer to Kyungsoo and lets his eyes go warm. “I’d do anything for you, Kyungie.”

Kyungsoo swallows hard. All vestiges of joking gone now. He’s seen the signs. This isn’t the first time he’s seen Chanyeol in love before and suddenly it all makes sense. It’s not just the cake either. It’s all the little things he does every day that either make Kyungsoo smile or just simply make his day easier. From running out and grabbing the mail when it’s cold outside to making sure Kyungsoo’s water glass never runs dry when they’re watching TV together. Chanyeol is always taking care of him and suddenly Kyungsoo is seeing him in a whole new light. When he speaks his voice is a little hoarse and his eyes are wide with feeling. “You do everything for me, Yeollie.”

Chanyeol licks his lips. Surprise rockets through him when Kyungsoo’s eyes track the movement but then he realizes that the younger does this all the time and why on earth is he only just now noticing? “I just- I want to take care of you.”

It’s Kyungsoo’s turn to lick his lips. He’s pretty much forgotten about the dishes, his hands just sort of sitting in the warm water. Steam rises from the sink and if his cheeks pink up he blames it on that. “What were you thinking about earlier?”

He wants to say nothing and deny that there had been anything going on but the moment is too intense and he’s not sure he’ll ever get another chance like this. “I was thinking about our friendship.”

“Our friendship.” Kyungsoo parrots eyes never wavering from Chanyeol’s face. He can see that the other is telling the truth but it’s not adding up. His confusion is written clearly on his cherubic features as he stares up at the other. 

“I was thinking about how our friendship has grown.” Chanyeol tells him casting about for a way to skirt around the edge of this without just coming out and saying he’s fallen in love. “How you- you used to hate me- but now- now you’re my best friend.”

Something warm blooms in Kyungsoo’s chest but it pales then embarrassment and guilt raise their heads and he quails a little. He never hated Chanyeol. No, the truth is so much worse. He had been instantly enamored of the older man when they first met. Unable to process his crush it had come out sideways in the form of glares and many many huffs of annoyance. The more they hung out the more Chanyeol poked and prodded and Kyungsoo had to hide behind his anger in order to hide his crush. But the more they hung out, the more he learned to deal with his infatuation as well. As he got to know Chanyeol he learned that the taller man was not only sinfully gorgeous but that he also hates spinach, loves his mother, adores the color blue, and a million other things. He learned so many little things about Chanyeol and each one just made him fall more and more in love. 

Somewhere along the way though he decided that he couldn’t spend his life pining after someone who’d never be his. Chanyeol dated so why shouldn’t he? He’d gone out on dates. Some good. Some bad. His last relationship had lasted the better part of a year even! Yixing had been sweet and attentive but eventually they just weren’t able to make it work anymore. Kyungsoo tried not to but he often found himself comparing Yixing to Chanyeol and Yixing was not blind. He could see what was going on. A month after Kyungsoo and Chanyeol had moved in together Yixing had broken it off, telling Kyungsoo that he couldn’t keep on being in love alone. And although Kyungsoo’s tears had been very very real, he had known that Yixing was right; his heart already belonged to the dorky giant he called a roommate. 

“I never hated you.” Kyungsoo fairly whispers, eyes flying to the bubbles covering his fingers. He’s half hoping Chanyeol won’t hear him but then the other half of him hopes this is it and maybe there’s a chance Chanyeol returns his feelings. 

Chanyeol blinks in surprise. “Yes you did.”

“No, Yeollie.” Kyungsoo says, quiet and firm. His eyes don’t move from the dishwater but he does begin to fidget his fingers in the water, watching the bubbles swirl and bump against one another. “I didn’t.”

“But-?” Chanyeol is confused. A million scenarios flash through his mind but none of them add up. The silence stretches, bright and poignant. It tremors between them mixing with the steam from the wash water and thickens the air making it hard to breathe. “Soo?”

Kyungsoo can’t look up. His heart is in his throat and he feels a bit like he’s choking. “Yeol?”

It feels like he’s standing on the edge of a great precipice. Any wrong move and he’ll tumble to his death. But the ground is crumbling – if he stays where he is he’ll surely die any way. Moving slowly, afraid if he moves any faster he’ll startle the younger man, he reaches into the water and gently takes hold of Kyungsoo’s hand. Giving a little tug he pulls Kyungsoo around to face him but the smaller man just stares at their suds covered hands so he uses his free, dry hand to tilt Kyungsoo’s face up to face him. “What are you saying, Kyungie?”

Huge brown eyes look up into Chanyeol’s lighter ones and he swallows hard, voice suddenly hoarse. “I never hated you. I- I didn’t know how- I just- I didn’t mean for you to think I hated you.”

Chanyeol licks his lips and tries to ignore they way Kyungsoo’s eyes unconsciously follow the movement. “Kyungie. I want to tell you something but I’m afraid of ruining your birthday.”

“Do it anyway.” Kyungsoo tells him. He’s pretty sure he knows what Chanyeol is going to tell him. There’s always the chance he’s wrong but he’d rather take the chance and have this out, birthday or no. 

“I-” Chanyeol swallows hard and coughs to clear his throat. Damn this is hard. Strengthening his resolve he tries again. “I’m crazy about you. Over the moon.” He shakes his head a little as if to clear it. “I don’t know when it happened. I- Just somewhere along the way I fell for you.”

Kyungsoo sucks in a sharp breath and tries to process what he’s hearing. “You-? What?”

“Oh god,” Chanyeol flails. He drops Kyungsoo’s hand as if he’s been burned. Of course this would backfire. He should have left well enough alone! Why oh why did he get stupid and confess his feelings? Now things will be awkward and weird and Kyungsoo will pull away from him and now he won’t even be able to spend time with him without it being weird. He should have just kept his mouth shut and dealt with loving alone. His thoughts spin and he feels like he can’t breath. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t ha-” He shuts up abruptly when he’s tugged forward and down and then there are lips on his and holy shit Kyungsoo is kissing him!

“I love you too.” Kyungsoo says in a voice that is just this side of hoarse when he pulls away.  
“You, what?” Chanyeol’s mouth hangs open in surprise and he blinks a couple times just to try and clear his head. 

Kyungsoo opens his mouth to answer but just then the timer for the cake goes off and he just about jumps out of his skin. The spell of the moment is broken but knowledge is a weighty thing. Chanyeol loves him! He grabs the oven mitts with a light heart. The cake is done to perfection when he tests it, the test stick coming out clean when he sinks it into the center of the pastry. “Set up the cooling rack for me.”

Chanyeol does what he’s asked, fingers trembling with what Kyungsoo just told him. It takes him a couple tries, the fold-able metal jumping out of his shaky hands once or twice to clatter on the counter top but eventually he gets the job done and watches in awe as Kyungsoo brings the cake over and sets it down. Once the cake is out of his hands he goes over to Kyungsoo and tugs the oven mitts off his hands so he can envelope them in his own larger ones. “I want to be very clear, Soo. I love you. I didn’t mean to but I fell head over heels in love with you.”

“I’ve loved you since we first met.” Kyungsoo tells him quietly, eyes shy and a soft pink blush coloring his cheeks. “I didn’t know how to deal with it so I was snarky towards you.”

“It worked out because I’m pretty sure I fell in love with that snark.” Chanyeol tells him with a grin. His heart is so full he can’t hardly stand it. How is this possible? Kyungsoo really loves him! “Pinch me, Kyungie.”

“What?” Kyungsoo asks brow lowering in confusion. 

“Pinch me.” Chanyeol repeats letting go of one of Kyungsoo’s hands so the younger can do as he’s been told. He does so but does it so gently that Chanyeol just about melts. “No. Do it proper. I know you can.”

“Why do you want me to pinch you?” Kyungsoo asks fighting back a laugh at the way Chanyeol waggles his eyebrows at him. Shaking his head and feeling all kinds of stupid he does what he’s been asked, grabbing hold of a small patch of skin on Chanyeol’s forearm and squeezing hard enough to bruise. “There. Happy?”

“Yes.” Chanyeol says immediately and he means it. He pulls Kyungsoo into his arms and brushes his dark hair off his cheek where it had landed. “Very happy. Because that means I’m not dreaming. This is real and you really do love me.”

Kyungsoo huffs out a little laugh and hits the taller man on the chest. “Of course this is real, pabo.”

“Kyungie?” Chanyeol’s eyes have gone all soft and he can’t stop staring at Kyungsoo’s perfect little bow shaped mouth. “Can I kiss you?”

“I wish you would.” Kyungsoo grumbles but it’s without heat. His heart skips a beat when Chanyeol’s head lowers and then it stops entirely when their lips meet. It’s sweet and tender and Kyungsoo feels like he’s flying. He never wants this to stop and he knows Chanyeol feels the same way when the older man lets out a little groan and crushes him in his arms, tracing his bottom lip with his tongue, asking for entrance. Kyungsoo is only to happy to oblige. 

They kiss like this for a very long minute. Sweet and deep and tentative in the best way possible. It’s finding new paths forward, figuring things out and both of them fucking love it. When Chanyeol’s chest begins to tighten with lack of air he finally pulls away and just stares down at the other in awe for a long minute. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Kyungsoo returns looking up into those warm brown eyes that he never thought would look at him like this. Impulsively he buries his face in Chanyeol’s chest and just holds him tight. The taller man’s scent washes over him and he’s appreciative of it in a way that he’s never been before. In the past the rich warm smell had been a reminder of what didn’t and would never belong to him but right now, as it washes over Kyungsoo and invades his senses, it’s the most comforting thing in the world. “Let’s order pizza and cuddle on the couch.”

Chanyeol smiles and presses a kiss to the top of Kyungsoo’s head. “Anything you want.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love.


End file.
